


On Butterfly's Wings

by WindandWords



Category: Into the Badlands (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-11-03 03:12:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10958445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindandWords/pseuds/WindandWords
Summary: Tilda scoffs, “what would I have to say to you Minerva?” Tilda knows using the Widow’s true name is like a slap in the face. “Or would you prefer I call you Baron now?” She couldn’t resist throwing the Widow’s own words back in her face.“What could I have done to possibly deserve your contempt? Your betrayal?” The Widow’s voice wavers with emotion before she steels herself. “Tell me Tilda!”





	On Butterfly's Wings

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time ever posting on Archive, thanks to losing a bet against SinfulDove. I got inspiration for this fic from yes-everhopeful on tumblr after reading a drabble she wrote. The asterisks signifies a flashback scene. Anyway, hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

**Sunny runs through the woods surrounding the Widow’s property. There was going to be patrols out looking for him soon and he couldn’t afford to run into any of them. The Butterflies are good clippers but Sunny knows he can take whatever they throw at him, his Baron had made sure of that. The thought of Quinn makes Sunny’s blood boil and he grits his teeth and puts on a burst of speed. No, he can’t waste any time on the Widow’s forces, he has more important things to deal with. He needs to get Veil and the baby back, then he’ll finish what he started with Quinn. He has to get to Waldo’s clipper shed at the Fort and hopefully Bajie will be able to get himself and M.K out of the Widow’s house and meet him at the Fort. Sunny ducks under a branch and is midstride when someone jumps out of a tree a few feet ahead of him. It is a teenage girl with short dark hair, wearing a black outfit with a horizontal hourglass on the left breast of her shirt. ‘Tilda, the Widow’s “daughter” and regent’ Sunny drops into a fighting stance as Tilda throws her hands up in an attempt to placate him.

“I’m not here to fight you Sunny.” Tilda doesn’t even dare to breathe as Sunny’s gaze sweeps over her. He doesn’t relax out of his fighting stance but he also hasn’t snap her neck yet so Tilda counts that as a win.

“The Widow sent you to find me.” It isn’t a question but Tilda nods and answers him none the less.

“She did but I’ll just tell her I couldn’t find you.” The girl shrugs her shoulders, “the woods are big, it’s possible you could escape my search.”

Sunny gives Tilda a questioning look as he relaxes slightly but still looks ready for a fight if it turns out Tilda is trying to trick him. “And why would you do that?” The last time he saw this girl she was willing to get tortured to keep the Widow safe. Why would the Widow’s most loyal clipper be offering to help him escape her baroness? She has to know what the price of disloyalty is.

The girl shifts uncomfortably and drops her gaze to the forest floor. Tilda drops her hands as she fiddles with the sleeve of her robe. ‘Veil……she helped me once. She gave me a choice, a chance to be free, to make my own decisions for once. I chose wrong and now she is paying for my mistakes. I couldn’t help her when Mother traded her and Henry back to Quinn…..I can’t change that now but I can let you go so you can go save them.”

“You do realize the Widow could have you stripped of your rank and killed for this.” Sunny straightens out of his fighting stance and stares at Tilda still not quite sure he believes her sudden change of heart.

Tilda smiles bitterly, “somethings are more important. I won’t compromise my beliefs for power.” The unlike my mother goes unsaid but the slight nod from Sunny tells Tilda he caught the unspoken words. The sound of running feet and voices echo from the woods behind them. The Widow’s search parties were close. “You need to leave now Sunny.”

The ex-clipper nods and starts to move past her before he stops and turns back. “M.K."

“I’ll make sure he gets out safe.” Tilda wouldn’t let her mother use M.K for whatever she had planned. He is her friend and if she is being honest with herself, she is still a little bit in love with him even though she told him she only wanted to be friends. “Now go Sunny.”

Sunny stays still a moment longer before he makes eye contact with Tilda, someone who by all rights should be his enemy, and quietly says “thank you.” Tilda nods at him and watches as Sunny turns and runs through the forest. The teen waits until Sunny is out of sight before turning to head back to the compound. Now she had to get M.K out of her mother’s grasp and to safety no matter what. Tilda knows that this disobedience could very well mean the end of her relationship with her mother or even possibly her life if she is caught. But as long as Sunny can get to Veil and Henry whatever happened next will be worth it. **

Tilda is torn from her thoughts by the sound of a key sliding into a lock. There’s a click as the door unlocks and after a tense moment it swings open. On the other end of it stands a tall red haired woman carrying a tray, she appears to be weaponless but Tilda sincerely doubts she is. Even with Tilda strapped to the bed it would be stupid to walk in here without a backup plan. The woman walks into the room, kicking the door shut with her foot, and puts the tray on the nightstand. She grabs a chair from the corner of the room and carries it over next to Tilda. The restrained girl simply watches with cold, impassive eyes as the woman sits the chair down and takes a seat. The woman watches Tilda for a second as if trying to gauge her reaction before shaking her head. “Really? You have nothing to say to me?”

Tilda scoffs, “what would I have to say to you Minerva?” Tilda knows using the Widow’s true name is like a slap in the face. “Or would you prefer I call you Baron now?” She couldn’t resist throwing the Widow’s own words back in her face.

“What could I have done to possibly deserve your contempt? Your betrayal?” The Widow’s voice wavers with emotion before she steels herself. “Tell me Tilda!”

“You want to talk about betrayal? You once told Veil if she needed a safe place she was always welcome here, and then the minute she came looking for shelter you sold her out to Quinn. You talk about wanting to take down the system, to free all the cogs and women so they never have to go through what we did.” The teenager looks at the Widow in disgust but she makes sure to hold the other woman’s gaze. “But it’s all lies. You’re just as bad as Quinn, using innocent people to further your own interests. At least Quinn has the guts to own up to it, he doesn’t hide behind false pretenses.”

The Widow’s eyes fill with rage at being compared to Quinn and she clenches her fists but makes no move to get up from her seat. “I did what I had to do” Widow grits out. “Why can’t you see that? It was one life for an alliance that could save countless others. Why can’t you see that I made that deal to protect you and your sisters?”

“Because you compromised EVERYTHING YOU STOOD FOR IN THE PROCESS!” Tilda shouts as she strains against the restraints, trying to push herself into a sitting position. The restraints stop her from getting far but it’s satisfying to see the shock on the Widow’s face. “Veil healed you! You would be dead now if it wasn’t for her and you repaid her by giving her and her baby back to that psychopath.”

“She also tried to turn you against me, Tilda.” The Widow pauses and looks down at her daughter, pain written all over her face. “Apparently, she succeeded.”

“Veil didn’t tell me to kill you she gave me a choice. And since you’re still sitting here, it’s rather obvious what I chose….and that I chose wrong.” Tilda hesitates at that last part but only briefly. As much as she loves the Widow, the only mother she’s ever known, she can’t help but wonder if it would have been better to poison her before she went down a path Tilda couldn’t follow. The girl watches as the person who has saved her life countless times winces and can’t help the stab of guilt she feels. Part of her wants to stop and take back everything she said. To beg for her mother’s forgiveness and go back to normal. But it was time for Tilda to grow up and stand up to her mother no matter how much it hurt. “Veil didn’t turn me against you” she says as steadily as she can. “You did that yourself when you turned your back on people you swore to protect. The…….Widow,” it feels foreign calling her by her title instead of mother but Tilda refuses to back down, “I know would never have done something like that. I don’t even know who you are anymore.

The Widow feels her eyes fill with tears the more Tilda talks but she didn’t let them fall. Hearing Tilda, her daughter and one of the only things in this world she loves, tell her that she regretted saving her hurts just as much now as it did in the conservatory. Widow is at a loss for words, anger and hurt swirling inside her. She stiffens when Tilda says she didn’t even know her anymore. The red-haired Baron knows she has compromised some in her quest to free the Badlands but she did what was necessary. Tilda was young and ruled by her emotions, it made her a good regent because she followed her instincts but it also meant that she couldn’t see that the Widow only did what she had to do. Power was not going to her head, she remembered her mission no matter what Waldo and Tilda believed. “I- “Widow starts to speak but stops when Tilda winces. The teen had spent their entire conversation trying to pull free of the restrains keeping her tied to the bed and the pain of her injuries was finally catching up with her. The Widow’s face softens and she gently pushes against Tilda’s good shoulder “lie back, you’re only causing yourself more pain.”

Tilda glares defiantly at the Widow and looks ready to argue but the stabbing pain convinces her to stop struggling and lie back against the bed. Widow turns to the almost forgotten tray on the nightstand and starts grabbing things off of it. Tilda turns her head to see what the other woman had brought in with her. On the tray is a pile of gauze, a stack of clean bandages, a needle, some thread, a pair of scissors, a bottle of alcohol, and a piece of leather. Why waste resources on someone who had just tried to kill her? It was a liability to keep her alive when Tilda has already proven that she was willing to attack the Widow. Tilda can’t help but ask the one question that has been bothering her since she woke up strapped to this bed. “Why didn’t you kill me?”

The other woman’s hand stops just shy of the scissors at Tilda’s question. “Do you really think so little of me, Tilda?” Of course, Widow knows the answer to her own question, so she doesn’t give Tilda a chance to respond. “I told you once that you were everything to me. This doesn’t change that.” The Widow focuses back on the tray and picks up the scissors. She leans over Tilda and deftly cuts away the torn sleeve of her uniform. The scissors are placed back on the tray and this time Widow picks up the needle and pours a little alcohol on it. Widow turns away from the tray to offer the alcohol to Tilda. “To help with the pain, unfortunately, we don’t have any else.”

“If you didn’t trade Veil to Quinn she might have been able to make something.” The older woman sighs and grits her teeth to stop herself from saying something as she offers the alcohol to Tilda, again. Tilda looks at the bottle debating internally before shaking her head. She will need a clear head if she was going to figure out a way out of here. “I don’t want any, just do what you came to do and then leave.” She knows she is pushing her luck by daring to speak to the Widow this way but Tilda doesn’t care. The older woman looks annoyed but puts the alcohol down and instead offers the leather strap to Tilda. Once the strap is slid between the teen’s teeth, Widow grabs the thread and starts stitching up Tilda’s arm. The younger girl tenses in pain and bites down on hard on the leather, no doubt leaving teeth marks, but refuses to make a sound. Thankfully, the cut wasn’t very big and the Widow is skilled enough at stitching up wounds that she makes quick work of it. As the Widow sets down the needle and thread, Tilda spits out the leather strap to draw in a pained breath. She’s starting to regret not taking the alcohol when she had the chance. Her arm is quickly and efficiently wrapped in gauze and bandages before the Widow gently pulls at Tilda’s shirt. The dried blood makes the shirt stick to Tilda’s skin and draws a whimper from the girl but finally the shirt pulls free of the wound, revealing a large, deep gash. Guilt surges through the Widow and she fights to stomp it out as she checks the wound for any signs of infection. She hadn’t meant to cut Tilda that deep she was just trying to get her to back down. Tilda waits until the Widow begins stitching up her side before she speaks in a pained and breathless gasp. “How long are you going to keep me prisoner in this room?”

The Widow pauses but doesn’t look up from her work. “You’re not a prisoner, Tilda.”

“So, you won’t mind undoing these restrains then and letting me go?” Tilda arches an eyebrow and nods down at her wrists but the Widow just goes back to stitching up her side. The young Regent scoffs in disgust, “Yeah that’s what I thought, everything you say is just lies and bullshit.”

“If you were my prisoner you’d be in a cell.”

“Is that where M.K is?” Tilda interrupts but the Widow carries on like the other girl never spoke.

“You’re here so your wounds can heal.” The Widow grabs the scissors and cut the thread before reaching for the gauze.

Tilda eyes the tray for a moment, trying to determine if there is a way she could reach it and get the scissors. As if reading the younger girl’s mind, the Widow nudges the tray further out of reach. “And what happens when my wounds are healed? Am I your prisoner then?”

A sad, slightly exasperated sigh echoes through the room. “I know you think I’m the villain here but all I want is you safe and a chance to prove that I’m still the same woman you used to bring breakfast to every morning.” The Widow stands up and grabs the tray of medical supplies. She makes her way to the door before she turns back to cast one last look at the girl on the bed. “Get some rest.” The door opens and shuts as the Widow makes a quick exit. The telltale click of a key in the lock signifying that Tilda is once again alone. Well now that she had finally left it’s time for Tilda to find a way of out this room. Minutes pass and then hours as time ticks away and Tilda still hasn’t come out with a good way to get out of the restraints without dislocating something and possibly tearing stitches. She’s still deep in thought when a key slides into the lock and the door opens with a click.

“Rise and shine Tinkerbell.”

Tilda’s face splits into a huge grin and she cranes her neck to see the older man in the doorway. “What are you doing here Waldo?”

The man wheels himself over to the bed and starts undoing her restraints. “What does it look like Tinkerbell? I’m saving your ass.” Waldo pulls the last restraint off of Tilda and she pushes herself into a sitting position. Her stitches pull uncomfortably but she has no time to dwell on it before Waldo shoves a cloak into her arms. “Put this on and let’s go, we don’t have much time.” As quick as her wounds will allow, Tilda pulls the cloak on and follows Waldo to the door. He shoves a tanto into her hand, not the modified ones that she’s been using since becoming Regent, Tilda notes with some disappointment. No doubt her weapons are locked up now. Mostly likely in Mother’s, no Tilda reminds herself that woman isn’t her mother, not anymore, the Widow probably had all of Tilda’s personalized gear locked in her chambers. As much as Tilda wants she knows it’s suicide to try to sneak into the Widow’s room, all for the sake of some weapons. Sighing, she swings the tanto in her hand, trying to get a feel for the weapon, it was well balanced and sharp, it would have to do for now. Waldo and Tilda step into the hallway and hurry down the corridor as fast as they can without making too much noise. “There’s a secret tunnel that leads outside the walls, I’ll get you there and then you need to get into the forest and disappear, understood?”

Tilda shakes her head and stops in her tracks. “I have to find M.K first.”

“No, what you need to do is listen to me for once, put your emotions in a box and get yourself to safety. Now keep up.” Waldo continues down the hall but Tilda doesn’t follow. Her eyes darting around the hallway as she plots the best way to get to the cells, with or without Waldo’s help.

“I’m not leaving without him, Waldo.” Tilda holds the gruff man’s eyes as he tries to glare her into submission. “I promised Sunny I’d get him out.”

That gets Waldo to sigh and look away. “You and Sunny are always looking for new ways to die, you pups have no sense……Fine, we have to hurry then.”

Tilda smiles and changes course, “moth- I mean, the Widow probably has M.K in a cell.” Waldo quirks an eyebrow at Tilda’s stutter but says nothing. The two of them hurry down the halls of the mansion, before Waldo grabs Tilda by the sleeve and pulls her to a stop. He puts a finger to his lips in warning when Tilda stops and turns to ask him what’s wrong. After a tense moment of silence, they both hear the sound of footsteps approaching them. Without warning Waldo shoves Tilda into a dark alcove right before a Butterfly walks into view.

Surprise flashes across the Butterfly’s face as she sees Waldo in the middle of the hallway, just casually watching her. “Waldo, what are doing out of your room so late?” Tilda winces in sympathy for her sister, Anna if Tilda was remembering the patrol schedule right, because Waldo was about to give her a verbal beatdown.

“I didn’t realize I needed your approval to take an evening stroll.” There was an edge of warning to Waldo’s tone. It would be best if Anna just walked on by but she stutters to defend herself.

“ Y-You don’t…I just-.”

Waldo cuts her off with a raised eyebrow before he plows right through her protests. “If you’re so worried about me feel free to escort me back to my room but then of course you’ll have to explain to the Widow why you abandon your post to walk an old man back to his room.” Tilda has to fight the urge to laugh at the stutters coming out of her sister’s mouth. She can picture the other girl staring opened mouthed at Waldo, unsure of what to say or if it was safe to say anything. Waldo tends to have the effect on people, and after a few more moments, Anna steps pass Waldo, without looking him in the eyes and continues briskly down the hall. As soon as Anna disappears from sight, Tilda steps out of the alcove.

“You didn’t have to be so hard on her you know, she’s young and just trying to prove herself.”

“Well unless we want her to prove herself at our expense we need to move. Unless you’d like to have another chandelier dropped on you.” The man smirks as Tilda rolls her eyes at his quip before she takes off sprinting down the hall, leaving Waldo to catch up. After a few more twists and turns, the two of them make it to the holding cells but stop dead when they see two guards. Thankfully, neither of the guards have noticed them yet and the clipper duo uses that to their advantage, as Tilda steps back, melding into the shadows while Waldo wheels forward.

One of the guards walks up to Waldo, he doesn’t reach for his weapon but he blocks the ex-clipper’s way. “You can’t be here Waldo” the guard barely gets the words out before Waldo slams his elbow into the guard’s solar plexus. The man crumples forward, hands covering his stomach and heaving for breath as Waldo grabs his neck and twists, snapping it in one quick motion. At the same time, Tilda springs from the shadows and catches the other guard by surprise. She plunges her tanto in the man’s chest before he can even defend himself. Tilda doesn’t even wait for his body to hit the floor before she is ripping the ring of keys off the guard’s belt and walking down the row of cells.

“Tilda?” M.K is sitting in one of the cells, leaning back against the wall but he jumps to his feet at the sight of his friend. For a moment, Tilda fumbles to find the right key but after a few tries she finds the right one and the cell door clicks open.

“We have to go before anyone realizes I’m gone.’ Tilda backs out of the doorway so M.K can leave the cell and then she hurries back to Waldo as M.K struggles to keep up as they backtrack through the halls.

“What happened to you Tilda, you just disappeared?”

“That’s not important right now M.K we have to leave before –,” Tilda’s words are cut off by the sounds of shouting and running feet. “That happens.” The walls pass in a blur as the three of them speed down the halls. M.K and Tilda just trusting that Waldo knows where they’re going. The sounds of running feet is coming from all direction and getting ever closer. “Please tell me we’re gonna make it Waldo.”

“This wouldn’t be happening if you didn’t go back for your little crush. But don’t worry Tinkerbell, we’ll make it.” Waldo sounds a lot more confident than Tilda feels but she can’t say anything because every step sends burning pain coursing through her side. As it turns out trying to escape with brand new stitches is not a good plan. At least their little group had managed not to run into any Butterflies yet. What feels like a battering ram crashes into Tilda’s injured side, sending her crashing to the ground. Groaning, Tilda looks up through tear filled eyes to see that the battering ram was actually a Butterfly. Today just really isn’t her day, the young Regent thinks as she sweeps the other girl’s legs out from under her. The move catches the Butterfly off guard and she goes down hard. Taking a brief second to catch her breath, Tilda looks around and surveys the situation. M.K is taking on a Butterfly in hand to hand combat and seems to be holding his own. Up ahead of them, Waldo is locked in combat with two Butterflies and in true Waldo fashion he’s easily moving out of the way of their blows and striking back with precise, hard strikes. Hearing her opponent starting to get back to her feet, Tilda painfully stands up and drops into a fighting stance. As her opponent stands up, Tilda finally gets a good look at the Butterfly who tackled her, her blonde hair is just starting to come loose of her bun and her face is contorted in rage but Tilda recognizes the other girl. Hestia, one of the Widow’s first Butterflies and one of Tilda’s closest sisters. This fact causes Tilda to hesitant for a moment too long and she is unable to duck the kick to the head. Staggering back, she tries to regain her bearings and its only instinct that allows Tilda to swat aside the follow through kick to the gut. Hestia quickly has Tilda on the defensive, dodging and swatting aside blows but unable or unwilling to get any of her own in. This is someone Tilda has known for years, someone who she truly saw as a sister and even though she knows they are on opposite sides now, the thought of fighting Hestia is tearing Tilda apart.

“We have to go now before we’re overrun!” Waldo’s shout draws Tilda from her thoughts and she knows she has a choice to make. She can either refuse to fight her sister and go back to being a prisoner or she can put aside her personal feelings and fight. With her mind made up, Tilda ignores the aching pain of her wounds and waits for Hestia to strike. She jumps over Hestia’s feet when she tries to sweep Tilda’s legs out from under her. Using her momentum Tilda lashes out with her foot mid jump and catches Hestia with a sharp kick to the chest. Her sister stumbles back and Tilda presses her advantage, surging forward and landing a series of stiff punches to Hestia’s face. The Regent blocks Hestia’s desperate counter punch, grabbing her arm and twisting it at the elbow, forcing it behind Hestia’s back. The blonde Butterfly struggles instead of using the counter move the Widow did when Tilda put her in the same lock. The struggling Butterfly gets nowhere and on a desperate attempt to break free, there is a resounding pop as Hestia’s shoulder separates. A piercing scream cuts through the sounds of battle and Tilda quickly releases her sister. The injured Butterfly crumples to the floor, trying to cradle her arm and stares up at Tilda in new found fear. Tilda fights back the urge to throw up when she sees her sister’s arm bent at an odd angle. Injuries during battle wasn’t new to Tilda or any of the Butterflies for that matter but this was the first time she had ever badly injured one of her sisters. Tilda looks around to see Waldo has finished with his opponents and he seems to be waiting for her and M.K while also keeping an eye on their surroundings.

“I’m sorry,” Tilda whispers to Hestia before she delivers a spinning kick right to her face. The young Regent turned rebel turns her back on her downed former sister but she can’t stop herself from wincing when she hears Hestia’s head crack off the floor from the force of the kick. Waldo nods at her, giving her a grim smile of approval before he takes off down the hall. Tilda looks behind her for M.K, he’s beat up but still standing which is more than she can say for the Butterfly he had been fighting. The two teens share a brief smile before they run to catch up with Waldo. They find him not that far ahead of them, he’s stopped at a wall. The sound of the Widow’s guards and Butterflies that have been hunting them are getting closer and closer. M.K opens his mouth, most likely to shout at Waldo when the older man presses on one of the stones. The sound of stone grinding against stone is all the warning M.K and Tilda get before a section of the wall slides away to reveal a passageway.

“That is seriously awesome,” M.K breathes out in shock and Tilda can only nod her head.

“Both of you go.’ Waldo turns back to face the sound of the incoming Butterflies as M.K steps into the tunnel. Tilda hesitates and grabs Waldo’s arm to plead with him.

“Come with us, please. You’ll be killed if you stay here.” He had to see that the Widow wouldn’t forgive him for this. The only reason Tilda was still alive is because the Widow loves her like a daughter, she wouldn’t be so lenient on Waldo. How could he not see that?

The Butterflies are getting closer but Waldo doesn’t seem worried. “I can handle a bunch of pups, Tinkerbell, and I won’t even use my legs. Now go.”

Tilda casts one last look at Waldo before letting go of his arm. “Thank you.” The words are simple and short but the meaning behind them is anything but. She wants to say thank you for caring, for risking your life, for trying to teach me how to be a good Regent but she knows there’s no time for all of that.

Waldo turns his head to look at her, “take care of yourself, Tinkerbell. I was just starting to like you. Almost.” He winks at Tilda as he repeats the same words he said to her only weeks before and she flashes him a teary smile before she steps into the passage way. The door starts to grind close behind her and the last thing she sees before it shuts is an army of Butterflies led by a very angry looking Widow bearing down on Waldo. The Widow and Tilda lock eyes and the teen can feel her gaze harden as she stares at the person who she would have died for and sees only a dangerous stranger. In that moment, the Regent turned rebel swears to herself that she’ll do whatever it takes to escape this place with M.K and honor Waldo’s sacrifice. The next time she saw her mother turned stranger she won’t hesitate to avenge Waldo. The passageway shuts with a shudder and Tilda takes a deep breath to calm herself before finally taking Waldo’s advice to heart. Shutting her roiling emotions in a box Tilda turns from the stone wall and sprints after M.K and towards freedom.


End file.
